The invention is directed to independent suspension of the rear wheel of a three wheeled vehicle or the like and more specifically to a rear suspension for a rough terrain three wheel vehicle having both wheels driven by a common driven axle.
A present form of recreation is the use of three wheel vehicles, such as, motorcycles and the like over extremely rough terrain and at considerable speed, such as, off road races and the like. Obviously rides of this type present considerable uncomfortableness to the operators of these vehicles as well as considerable wear and tear to the vehicles.
The following U.S. Patents are directed to the driving of the rear wheels of a three wheel type vehicle: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,445,677; 1,876,155; and 2,425,855. These teachings are conventional means for driving the rear wheels, all of which include rigidly positioned axles and differential drives. The differential does not allow the simultaneous driving of both axles and the rigid axles do not allow individual flexible suspension of the axles.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,960, the wheels are positioned on the ends of a fixedly positioned axle and the resilient member is positioned between the operator's seat and the axle.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,494,364, and 2,391,982, flexible axles providing individual suspension are shown; however, these teachings do not include any means to provide the flexibility required and a method for driving the wheels.
There has not been an entirely successful driven independently suspended rear axle system for a three wheel vehicle until the emergence of this invention.